Buffalo Bills News - November 17, 2003

Morale at all-time low as offense continues landslide [5:04 AM]Houston Chronicle reports:
'Sunday against the Texans, Bledsoe and the Bills rolled up 335 yards and ran 15 plays inside the Houston 20-yard line. For their efforts, they came away with one successful field goal attempt in three tries, a 12-10 loss and round upon round of questions about 12 quarters and change of unbroken futility.'

Capers benches Coleman, Peek [5:03 AM]Houston Chronicle reports:
'Capers declined to specify which rule was violated, but sources said the players were suspended for being late to multiple team meetings, including Saturday's. Peek confirmed that he was suspended for tardiness, but Coleman said through a representative that he wouldn't speak publicly about the matter until he had a chance to address it privately with his teammates.'

By the quarters [5:02 AM]Houston Chronicle reports:
'Travis Henry is stopped for a one-yard loss by Eric Brown near the goal line on third down, forcing the Bills to settle for a field goal.'

Texans Summary [5:01 AM]Houston Chronicle reports:
'With two safeties recorded Sunday, the Bills have three for the season and are hot on the heels of the NFL record of four held by five teams, most recently the 1999 Titans.'

Inside Look [5:00 AM]Houston Chronicle reports:
'The bottom line:
The Bills are struggling mightily on offense and were playing without top receiver Eric Moulds, but if the Texans play defensive as aggressively as they did against the Bills, they'll cause problems for a lot of teams. This was the attacking style of defense for which Dom Capers and Vic Fangio are known.'

Grading the Texans [4:59 AM]Houston Chronicle reports:
'Linebackers: A
Jamie Sharper and Jay Foreman did a good of stuffing Henry in the middle, and the pass rush was better than it has been in any game this season. Four linebackers -- Sharper, Kailee Wong, Charlie Clemons and Shantee Orr -- had sacks. Orr, who was on the practice squad until Sunday, had a debut to remember.'

Score one for the defense [4:58 AM]HoustonTexans.com reports:
'The Texans defeated Buffalo 12-10 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in a game only their mothers, fans and Dom Capers could love. It was a good old-fashioned slugfest that featured more safeties than touchdowns.'

November 16, 2003

Texans-Bills Quotebook [8:36 PM]BuffaloBills.com reports:
'"It was very critical that we didn't give up any big plays. Travis Henry did a great job getting out of the gate, but we held them to a field goal. Also, they missed some field goals and that was the difference."'

Gregg Williams Quotes [8:35 PM]BuffaloBills.com reports:
'On contemplating going for it on fourth and goal in the third quarter before deciding on a field goal:
"We thought the ball was spotted on the one-yard line when we went into the huddle. When we came out of the huddle, the ball was actually a little bit closer to the two. We wanted to discuss it. It was in the third quarter and our defense was fighting and scratching. We had to get points out of that drive. That's what we believe. Once we found that the ball was spotted a little farther out than what we originally heard and looked at, we decided to kick the field goal and get points on that drive. I feel we failed on a couple other drives, where we didn't get field goals. It ends up being the difference-maker in the ball game."'

Drew Bledsoe Quotes [8:34 PM]BuffaloBills.com reports:
'"I don't really know what to tell you. We had opportunities when we were down there close and we've got to score touchdowns. What it comes down to is if we are running the ball everybody has got to be just right on their assignments and if we are throwing the ball somebody has got to make a play. If it's a great throw or a catch or whatever it is, we have got to score touchdowns down (in the red zone) and we haven't been able to do it."'

London Fletcher Quotes [8:33 PM]BuffaloBills.com reports:
'"Right now it's tough because it's the present one. We played a Houston team that has improved, but are they a better football team than us? No."'

Rian Lindell Quotes [8:32 PM]BuffaloBills.com reports:
'"I crammed myself and planted a little too close to the ball. I didn't really give myself a chance to extend and get a good swing on it. That's what happens and you kind of get those ugly ones to the left."'

Bobby Shaw Quotes [8:31 PM]BuffaloBills.com reports:
'Do you wonder where all the points have gone?
"Well we're not putting it in the end zone. If we don't put it in the end zone and don't put it through the up-rights we're not going to get points. It's as simple as that. We're just not finishing drives. We've got to be able to finish drives. We've got to be able to concentrate and focus and do what we need to do. It's just not happening right now and that's killing us when we get down there to put points on the board."'

Dom Capers Quotes [8:31 PM]BuffaloBills.com reports:
'"Well it's hard for me to comment on their football team. All I know is we felt coming in this was gonna be a close, hard fought game and that we were going to have to find a way, like many of our games. I think if you look at six of our football games, we've been able to win I think four of those six. We've lost a couple that were real close in the end. We felt if we could keep our poise and keep fighting and find a way to make a play… We found a way to make some big plays down the stretch in the second half."'

Tony Banks Quotes [8:30 PM]BuffaloBills.com reports:
'"They're always good, anytime you can beat a great defense like that on the road, you've got to love that."'

Henry plays with cracked fibula [7:21 PM]The Sports Network reports:
'He underwent x-rays and returned in the third quarter. After the game Henry was diagnosed with a broken right fibula. He finished the contest with 23 carries for 149 yards on the ground.'

Buffalo OT Williams injured in car accident [7:21 PM]The Sports Network reports:
'Williams apparently rolled his truck and sustained minor injuries. He was then taken to Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo after being helped from the car by the jaws of life. He will remain there for observation.'

NFL PrimeTime HQ! (ESPN chat) [7:20 PM]ESPN reports:
Adam(Buffalo): Tom, do you think the Bills coaching staff should be fired or is it their personel to blame for these awful couple of weeks?

Tom Jackson: (5:11 PM ET ) I'll just say this. I bet that Kevin Gilbride is fired this week. Les Steckel could be calling their plays next week. Gilbride is the offensive coordinator there and Ralph Wilson wanted to fire him last week.

Texans hold on in Buffalo bout [4:21 PM]HoustonTexans.com reports:
'Bledsoe hit TE Mark Campbell for a six yard gain to the one yard-line but on Henry's next carry, Texans SS Eric Brown pushed him back for a one-yard loss to force a 4th and 2. The Bills opted for a 20-yard Lindell field goal to put the score at 9-8, continuing an 11-quarter stretch without a touchdown.'

Houston 12, Buffalo 10 [4:10 PM]AP reports:
'In its last three games, Buffalo has combined for 21 points, including three safeties. Its last offensive score was Henry's 14-yard run with 10:24 left in a 24-7 win over Washington on Oct. 19.'

Houston 12, Buffalo 10 [4:09 PM]Sportsticker reports:
'The Bills (4-6) could have taken Johnson down, but cornerback Nate Clements and linebacker London Fletcher failed to complete their tackles. Safety Pierson Prioleau tried to catch the rookie receiver, but was unable to prevent Johnson from giving Houston a 6-5 lead.'

Texans QB Carr hurts right shoulder [3:07 PM]AP reports:
'Texans quarterback David Carr hurt his right shoulder and was replaced by backup Tony Banks in the first half of Houston's game at Buffalo on Sunday.'

Bills OT Williams hurt in car accident [3:06 PM]AP reports:
'According to police, Williams was reaching for something that he dropped and lost control of his pickup, ending up in the ditch. Williams was the only person involved in the accident about three miles from the stadium, police said.'

Texans suspend Coleman, Peek [3:05 PM]AP reports:
'Houston Texans cornerback Marcus Coleman and linebacker Antwan Peek were suspended for an unspecified violation of team policy and will miss Sunday's game against Buffalo.'

For Bills, it's right here, right now [9:06 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said the Bills need to find a way to get their confidence back. "I think certain parts of our game are coming together," he said. "But you get to a point where you're not playing as well as you would like, then you start to press and step outside yourself, and instead of getting better you wind up getting worse. Somehow we have to continue to work hard and not get discouraged, which is not easy to do, and make a play or two. Make a play, you feel good about it and then I think it's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. You start feeling good and start expecting success and success seems to follow suit."'